Pepperoni
by bare-footed-muse
Summary: Knightsbridge was always a bit classy for Pizza Italiano GoGo- not that Merlin notices, with no aspirin, his mother calling, rent, his best friends holding hands and the endless stream of pizza delivery. And the sense of desperation. Modern day AU! Read?
1. Chapter 1

**Long time, no see :)**

**Sorry I've posted absolutely nothing for a while- coursework and another major project have consumed my life... hopefully I will be posting _this _at least regulary! :)**

**Right: modern day, hopefully humorous. Tell me if you think I should kill it dead. Also- this may very likely turn to slash. It's not at the moment, but could go either way depending on your opinions :) Let me know :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. Consider it disclaimed.**

**Read, review, enjoy.**

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**_~Pepperoni~_**

"Half an hour. That's our guarantee. Half an hour delivery. That was in your contract, Ambrosious!"

"I know sir. I'm sorry."

"This is your last chance. I swear, screw up once more, and you're out of the job!"

Staring intently at the tips of his scruffy converses poking out from under the hems of his jeans, Merlin nodded, silently. The convex surface of his shiny blue moped helmet, tucked in the crook of his arm, reflected the purple face of his employer, Mr Samose, whose bushy moustache and large fleshy nose seemed grotesquely enlarged.

Which of course, they were in real life.

Merlin dared a peek out from his long dark fringe.

"It won't happen again, Mr Samose."

The beady little eyes narrowed menacingly. Merlin could have sworn he heard Mr Samose's fist pummel his palm on each word.

"You-just-better-hope-not."

Shrinking a little further down in a wasted attempt at a respectful dip of the head, Merlin fled the stuffy office at the back of _Pizza Italiano GoGo._

He collapsed against the wall of the corridor, clutching his shiny blue moped helmet with sweaty palms.

This was how Will found him some minutes later.

"Alright there, Merlin?"

Merlin fixed the flour-caked boy with large terrified eyes.

"He's going to kill me one day, Will."

Will laughed.

"I'm serious."

"Right," Will offered him a tomato-sauce decorated hand, which Merlin took and staggered unsteadily to his feet. "Careful! Jesus. Late night again?"

Merlin yawned in response.

"It's no wonder you don't make delivery time. What is so interesting about those damn books, Merlin? Honestly. If I didn't know better, I'd think you felt a little something for that librarian."

Merlin gazed reproachfully at him with large blue eyes as they walked back to the kitchen.

"I'll shut up now?"

"Thanks."

-

"Be quick about it, for God's sake!"

"You doubt me?" Zipping the pizzas into the '_HeatO'_ heat-locking bag on the back of his slightly battered company moped, Merlin tugged the helmet onto his head. Waving briefly to Will, the little bike chugged into action.

Steering through various side-streets, he jumped a red light- wincing as he did so- and swerved to avoid a collision with a Zimmer-framed old woman. His knees stuck out a little as he skidded to a halt outside number 10 Hyde Park Gate, Knightsbridge.

Merlin leapt off the moped and yanked the shiny blue helmet off. He wondered briefly if a case of helmet hair would add to the presentation of the pizza… goodness knows he needed to get in Mr Samose's good books.

After deliberating for a second, Merlin, trying to look nonchalant, swept a hand through his hair. Twenty-six minutes. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Carrying the pizzas carefully up the steps, he rang the doorbell. Waiting for a moment, he took in his surroundings.

White houses, ornamental and symmetrical, were lined up n front of him. The porch had pillars, and parked precisely by the curb was a very low-slung car. Merlin squinted at it. It looked like a nice one. He'd never been big on cars as a kid, but this one was grey and very, very shiny and looked like it had several exhaust pipes. In fact, the seats looked pretty swish too. All dark leather and super-comfort. But surely, though, that leather would be agony to sit on, really, after all this time in the sun, and-

"Ahem."

Merlin turned, hand in helmet hair, eyebrows raised.

"I believe you have my pizzas."

"Ah. Yes. Yes I do."

The man leaning a broad shoulder against the white frame of his door raised an arrogant eyebrow.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Um, yeah. This is number 10, right?"

"Yes," The man straightened up, appraising the pile of boxes in Merlin's hands. He stepped out of the shade of his door into the bright sunlight. "I ordered six pizzas."

"There's…" Merlin too, looked at the boxes in his hands. "Oh, shoot- here, hang onto these for a moment-" He shoved the boxes into the man's large hands and hurried- tripping- back over the moped, balanced precariously against the little white garden wall. He dug into the 'HeatO' bag, tongue beneath his teeth. "My bad, sorry- here." Jogging back up the steps, Merlin presented him with a great grin and perched the last slightly battered box on top of the pile in the man's hands. "Well, enjoy your pizza."

"Don't I owe you some money?"

"What?"

"Money. For the pizza."

"Oh! Of course. That's um, £52.67."

The man was giving Merlin a look. Realising this, Merlin's ears began to redden.

The man walked back to the door and placed the pizzas on a table just inside and picked up some money.

"Now, that's your tip," He explained slowly, pointing out the extra money. He closed Merlin's hands over the money. "Alright?"

"Um… yeah."

Shuffling down to his moped, Merlin replaced the helmet and chugged his moped away. No doubt his ears looked like Chinese lanterns by then.

Driving wonkily down the street, Merlin didn't see the man watching him with confused eyes all the way to the corner, the sunlight highlighting every hair on his blonde head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello :)**

**Bit longer for you this week: and a bit more action. Hopw you enjoy :D  
Now, on the pairng. Please don't hate me. It's absolutely and completely not cannon- I don't think they ever even spoke- but for som reason, I like it. Bizarrely! :D**

**Well, read, review, enjoy x**

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"_Billie Jean is not my lover, she's just a girl, who says, I am the one_…"

Will couldn't sing. He really couldn't sing.

"…_But the kid is not my son_…"

"Will! Will! Shift's over, get out!"

Will shot a mock salute to Jeanie, the red-haired head chef and hung his apron up with all the others whose occupants had already knocked off ten minutes earlier.

Sitting outside on his moped, engine popping impatiently, was Merlin.

The city lights around them rumbled like late night grumblers. Satellites were the only stars in the sky not drowned out by the glare from the ground. Merlin's face was brightly illuminated by the pizzeria lights and it was half amused, half exasperated as Will danced out of the door humming the tune to _Billie Jean_.

"No time like the present, Will."

Will grinned and leapt onto the back of the moped- the glint in his eye reminded Merlin of yesterday's trip home.

"If you start the hand jive as we go round Lillie Road again, we will crash, you know?"

Engine chugging to life, Merlin coaxed the moped to 35 miles per hour. Will chuckled.

Merlin and Will went years back- although they hadn't known this for long. Originally, pizza delivery boy had been a temporary bill-payer of a job for Merlin: twelve months on, he'd been forced to admit it might be a bit more permanent than that. Nursing a pint down at the nearest pub had been where Will had found him dwelling on that fact, and whilst they'd seen each other around the pizzeria, they'd never really talked. The long night and countless pints had revealed many similarities- including that of their primary school and the street they'd lived on as kids.

So, now, at the ages of 26 and 25, for each the other was the only thing that really kept them sane under Mr Samose's purple-faced employment.

And Merlin needed this job.

The moped wheezed to a stop outside Will's flat.

"You coming in?" Will asked, stretching in the night air. "There's a game on."

Merlin shook his head. "Stuff to do."

Will rolled his eyes. "See you tomorrow, then. Don't be late for work."

Merlin gave him a look.

"I've got your best interests at heart," Will tried his angel face as he turned the key in the lock. "See you."

"Bye." He pulled away from the curb, wobbling as he fought to gain control of the moped.

Thoughts only half on the too-familiar route home, Merlin's mind wandered. According to Will, this wandering happened all the time, and one of the reasons Mr Samose didn't like him was because it gave him a glazed look. A signature look, no doubt.

Merlin scowled slightly beneath his helmet, taking a left.

Glazed. One of the things his late uncle- how he missed him- had taught him was that whilst he was… different from others, it was no guarantee of success. Merlin was half glad his uncle couldn't see him now, delivering pizzas and using his skills- that were most definitely not on the CV he'd handed to so many employers- for nothing but cooking microwave meals.

Different. Glazed.

Oh dear. This was one of _those_ trains of thought.

Merlin pulled the moped up onto the pavement outside his little apartment and fumbled for the keys. He let himself in and threw his shiny blue helmet into an armchair, grabbing a book at random from a pile on the floor. Before any other thoughts could sidle across his mind, he lost himself in the words and pages.

-

Knightsbridge was never utterly quiet. The aggressive purr of motors or music from houses like his own always prevented stillness from settling.

The blonde man stood at the edge of a party- _his_ party- with dimmed flashing lights occasionally catching the glass in his hand.

For some reason he couldn't quite discern, among these friends and colleagues, acquaintances and pretty girls, he couldn't quite shake the eyes of the idiotic pizza boy from his head. Even the pounding bass speakers seemed distant and muffled, and the eyes of everyone trying to catch his own eye were deep blue.

Irritably, the blonde man shook his head. It was more than likely the incompetent boy would be fired within the month. Forgetting payment. Honestly.

So, in that case, even if he were to order from _Pizza Italiano GoGo _again- which of course he _wasn't_ planning on doing the next day, not at all- it was highly likely the blue-eyed boy would not be the one delivering.

His brow un-knitted and he gave a few satisfied logical nods to himself. He coughed in a manly way and strode back into the centre of the party, hooking his arm around the waist of a girl whose name escaped him along the way.

-

The phone rang.

The phone rang _incessantly_.

"Go away," Merlin mumbled into his pillow.

His duvet felt warm and soft and curled up into a ball as he was, the morning sunshine gently sneaking through the curtains, and he felt excessively comfortable, and had no desire to move anywhere.

An answer phone beep, and, drowsily, he heard his own voice.

"_Hi, I'm not here or I can't talk right now or…yeah, so leave a message and I'll get back as soon as I can. Get back to you, that is. Give you a call. Um, thanks_!"

"Merlin? Merlin, wake up you dozy bugger. Merlin! Merlin!"

"Will?" His duvet felt warm and soft and as he reached out a long skinny arm for the phone, he realised just how cold it was.

He fumbled the receiver and brought it to his ear, the curled wire snaking under the duvet after him.

"Will, they've cut off my heating."

"Well, why didn't you pay it then? But listen, Merlin, I know it's early, but Gwen's been round and she's not happy with me-"

"When you say it's early-" He dared a peek over the covers and squinted at the dented alarm clock (dented from when he'd accidentally knocked it flying in a hurry to get out of bed) perched on the bedside table. "Will, it's nine o'clock in the morning!"

Merlin moaned and snuggled down further into his covers. "I hate you."

"I know, but listen, can you talk to her? I've no idea what I'm supposed to have done wrong, and you know-" Will did sound upset. "Please?"

Merlin heaved a great sigh and rubbed sleep from his eyes with his free hand. "Of course I will. Where is she?"

"I don't know, she just came in, crying and everything and then… left."

"Great. Thanks. I'll find her."

He hung up the phone. Pity and loyalty swelled within him, and Merlin took three deep breaths.

"Ok… ok…"

He wrenched back the covers, leapt from the bed and dashed to his chest of drawers, yanking one open and plunging his hand into it in search of a pair of warm socks.

Dropping to the ground, socks grasped in triumphant hand, Merlin wiggled his feet into them, cursing as he did so. He repeated the ordeal with his favourite hoodie and then, grabbing a pair of jeans from a now useless radiator he hurried through the kitchen. Stopping briefly to snatch a slightly out of date granola bar and shoes, Merlin let himself out of the front door and shoved his hands in his pockets. There was no point in taking the moped: Gwen wouldn't have gone far.

Merlin still wasn't exactly sure how he felt about Will and Gwen- after all, it'd been him who'd introduced them six months ago. Really, it had been inevitable, what with Will's vibrant personality and careful flattery and Gwen being a hopeless romantic… but the relationship had put a bit of a damper on all three of them going out together.

Merlin still remembered vividly them holding hands over his lap in the cinema that time.

London bustled around him. The morning painted everyone's face with drooped eyelids, and Merlin scanned for a face that was teary rather than bleary.

Gwen would be drinking coffee. It was just what she did when upset- Merlin remembered actually buying her a coffee machine when her dog Hattie died three years ago. Really expensive coffee machine too. To his knowledge she still used it, which was surprising, considering how he attacked it with a screwdriver when it first broke, and when she wasn't looking just fixed it with a flash of gold-

But he didn't like thinking about that. Not when Will probably wouldn't let him get to work until he'd found Gwen.

After peering through several coffee-shop windows, Merlin's brow was furrowed beneath his long dark fringe and his mouth in a pondering twist.

"Excuse me? You haven't seen a girl, have you, my age, dark skin, curly brown hair, about so high?"

"No, sorry." The startled mother hurried on.

"Excuse me? Have you seen a girl, about my age, dark skin, brown curly hair, probably crying?"

"Err… 'fraid can't help yeh, son." Frowning, Merlin walked on a bit. He craned his neck for any sign of her, tutting at Will's incompetence at letting her leave the house. And _then_ calling on him to look for her.

"Excuse me? Have you seen a girl about my age, short, dark skin, brown curly hair, probably crying? She's around here somewhere."

The blonde man before him seemed a little in shock. Merlin hoped he hadn't startled him. "I'm sorry to bother you, it's just quite important I find her and…"

The man coughed. "Yeah, there was someone like that sitting in Costa over there."

"Really? Oh, thank you!" Merlin flashed him a brilliant grin. "You may have just saved my friend's relationship." Merlin clapped the man's back as he hurried past him towards the tucked-away Costa Coffee indicated.

As he weaved through the early-morning people, Merlin didn't see the man with blonde hair watching him incredulously all the way out of sight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all...**

**Two things- firstly, this is officially NOT going to ever be slash :)  
Secondly, Apologies for any type-os in the story or these ANs. My keyboard's playing up... .**

**Tears, coffee, attention-seeking and Porches coming up in this chapter... oh, and, of course, the FA cup final.**

**Read, review, enjoy! :)**

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"…and then I didn't know what to say!" Morosely, Gwen gazed into her frothy cappuccino. "So I just walked out. Was that bad? I thought it's what you would have done. I mean, not that I'm saying _you're_ bad, but it's- it's-"

With a great sniff she took some more of the chocolate muffin in front of her.

"Oh Gwen. Don't worry, sweetie, it'll be alright."

The bell jangled as Merlin opened the café door. He spotted Gwen immediately, sitting with a dark haired woman Merlin didn't know. She was rubbing Gwen's back with a friend's hand and saying something in a low, sympathetic voice.

She looked up as Merlin squeezed into the free seat at their table. It was then he noticed that she was exceptionally beautiful.

He felt a little weak-kneed then.

"Can I help you?" She appraised him.

"Um, yes actually… Gwen?"

Gwen, who had been snivelling into her coffee cup, looked up with red-rimmed eyes.

"Merlin!" She threw a hand to his arm.

"Ah Gwen, what happened?"

"Well, I called him last night to ask if he would come over- I'd finished at the hospital and I wanted to see him because I hadn't seen him for ages-" Her tone was quiet and sad, and she hated having so much sympathetic attention, but Merlin knew Gwen too well to think she wasn't enjoying telling the story just a little bit- "And he just said no. So I asked him why, because I'd done dinner and everything, and he said the game was on. The _game_, Merlin!" She scooped some chocolate topping off the cappuccino with her finger.

"FA cup final," Merlin muttered very, very quietly.

"So I asked him if he thought a football match was more important than seeing me, and he just said 'yeah, in this case, Gwen'."

Then she took the whole chocolate muffin and shoved in her mouth.

"Bastard," Said the beautiful lady, squeezing Gwen's shoulder sympathetically.

"So I went round this morning and told him I didn't think we should see each other anymore. I obviously don't mean that much to him, I'm sure anyone else could-"

Merlin fixed Gwen's beautiful friend with a conflicted look. "Well, Gwen, you don't really understand, see, it was a very important match for Will- see, Arsenal had this point thing in the last game, with a debateable offside goal, and-" He backtracked the wide, hurt eyes of his friend and the almost murderous gaze of the friend of his friend warning him. "-but he was joking. I know Will. He called me this morning, and he said-" he paused. He'd never been good at lying. Already he could feel his traitorous palms beginning to sweat. Damn his innocent conscience. "He said he didn't mean it. At all," Merlin swallowed. The next bit wasn't a lie. Why was he so nervous? Just something about Gwen's friend's gaze made him feel very exposed and conscious of his thoughts. "I know he loves you Gwen. He's just a bit of a tosser sometimes…"

The cappuccino was nearly finished, and Merlin could see Gwen wavering. "I think, give him a chance to make it up to you. I'll talk to him today?"

Gwen's friend's mouth was a very thin line. Her hair was almost crackling like a storm and the look she was giving Merlin made him quake.

"Um. Hi. I'm Merlin. We've not been introduced?"

"Morgana."

He smiled weakly, eyebrows curved up as he turned around to a nearby by waitress.

"Hi. I'll think I'll have a black coffee and another cappuccino here please."

-

Morgana had wanted a lift to see her friend. Some relationship crisis. Why she couldn't take the bus like a normal person was a mystery to him: just because he had a new car, did not make him a taxi service. She obviously enjoyed what the Porsche did to her reputation.

The blonde man paced. He'd visited everywhere of any interest to him in this street, and was horribly conscious of the fact that his new car was parked unattended in a multi-story car park two streets away. Surely a crisis, of any kind, could not be taking this long.

And now the pair of eyes that had been haunting him had stared in his face with no recognition.

Not being recognised by a no-hope pizza boy was really something that shouldn't cause him any discontent whatsoever.

Whatsoever.

The blonde man leant angrily against the wall of a shabby corner shop and pushed the disconcerting young man who was putting everything so out of balance from his head.

-


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello all :)**

**possibly slightly sadistically, I had so much fun writing this chapter ^_^ Hope you enjoy just as much :D**

**Read, review, enjoy.**

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Merlin blessed the absolute silence of his house as the door banged shut behind him.

He had a nastily throbbing headache from where Will had accidentally whacked his head against the doorframe by giving him a bone-crushing hug. Merlin had persuaded Gwen that it had all been a misunderstanding, much to Will's delight- hence the hug- and the beautiful Morgana's distaste. Merlin had almost sprinted from the coffee shop, back against the wall, to avoid what could only be described as her wrath.

Merlin sighed and leant against the closed door. He had an hour all to himself before his shift at _Pizza Italiano GoGo_ started.

"There shall and will be aspirin," He moaned, making his weary way to the kitchen.

Rummaging around in the cupboards for the little box (disregarding an old kettle, a broken spatula, sleeping tablets and what looked like a very old asparagus), Merlin pressed the little answer phone button on the kitchen phone.

There was a beep.

"_Two new messages. Message one, today, 2:55 pm._"

"Poppet, it's your mum. You're not in again; you're never in these days, honestly, I've said it before, they work you too hard at that pizza place. Your auntie Vi wondered how you were doing… oh, Merlin, dear, I was watching the telly the other night, and there was a programme on about malnutrition. You are eating all right, aren't you? I don't want you just eating that junk food. Give me a call, all right? And-"

Hastily, Merlin hit the 'delete' button.

He _would_ call her later. He wasn't a bad son, really.

"_Message deleted. Message two, today, 3:04pm_."

"Hi Merlin, it's Jeanie. I was just wondering, if maybe, you know, you'd like to get a drink later or something? I finish at 10. So um, give me a call, or speak to me at work, or, whatever. Ok. Um, bye."

"_End of messages. To listen to your message again, press one_-"

Again? _Again_? In panic, Merlin hit a button on the machine at random, quest for aspirin abandoned.

"_One old message. Today, 2.55pm."_

"Hi Merlin, it's Jeanie, I was just won-"

"No! Stop it, you stupid-"

"_Message deleted. End of messages."_

He stood in shock for a moment.

Jeanie, as in permanently angry red-haired head chef Jeanie, had asked out _him_? On a _date_? _Tonight_?

Will had always ridiculed him for his success rate with girls. Before Gwen came along, they'd go out to bars and Will, the slick git, would always, _always_, end up taking home some girl. Merlin, ears blushing like Chinese lanterns, would mutter something along the lines of 'I like your mouth' and then end up home alone in utter mortification.

So really, this was a bit of a dilemma.

He hovered over the phone, deliberating.

_Deep breath, Merlin, deep breath_. He wiggled the fingers on his hand and his foot jiggled uncontrollably.

He dialled the number, and snatched up the phone.

_Don't pick up, don't pick up_…

Of course, she did.

"Hi! Jeanie, it's er, Merlin…" He swallowed. "Listen I was just calling about… uh huh. Yeah. Yeah! Um. I- right! That'd be… excellent! Um. Um. Of course. Well, er, I'll see you later the. Bye." She hung up.

Merlin collapsed against the fridge.

-

The purr of a powerful engine hummed through the quiet air in open windows of number 10 Hyde Park Gate.

The blonde man lay on his dark leather sofa, staring contemplatively into the half glass of wine in his hand. He swirled the ruby liquid with a smooth wrist motion and raised a sigh at nothing in particular.

His house was empty- unfortunately. He could have done with company to take his mind from pepperoni and mozzarella. For the meantime the claret would have to do.

His blue eyes- catching the light from the windows- had an irritating habit of flickering unconsciously to the phone and a number scrawled on the pad beside it. Fingering the cup of the wine glass, his free hand dragged through his hair, front to back. There was no reason he should not make his own lunch: his kitchen was fully stocked and there was a rather tender steak in the fridge that needed eating.

Nonetheless, the man downed the rest of the glass a stood in one fluid motion, exasperation and wine nudging him forward.

Ridiculous, he told himself. Ridiculous.

-

"MERLIN! Get out here- _delivery_!"

Will's bellow jumped Merlin from his anxious musings.

"Coming!"

H pulled on his shiny helmet as he took the box sitting on the delivery hatch, glancing at the address briefly, and hurrying out to the dented moped.

Half an hour. That's what he was to concentrate on. Not the change of clothes folded up in his bag for tonight.

Mr Samose's face rose in Merlin's mind, shaking a salami of a finger at him.

God, he hoped that face wouldn't be in his mind tonight on his… date.

Just the thought of the word made Merlin's knees feel a little faint, and he had to swerve at the last minute to avoid a daring pensioner leaving the pavement.

It wasn't that big a deal. Really, it wasn't.

(So far, however, Merlin had had the sense not to mention his hot date to Will).

Cringing slightly, Merlin turned left and skidded to a stop outside a suddenly familiar house. He glanced down at the chipped face of his watch and breathed a sigh of relief.

Twenty-three minutes. Nice. Very nice indeed.

Merlin pulled off his helmet and shook out his hair. Really, this date- it would be all right. _Yeah_.

He took the pizza box and strolled- bowling it- up to the paintwork of number ten. He knocked on the door.

"Hello?"

"Hi! I have your pizza."

"Thanks," The blonde man who had answered the door rummaged in his pocket for some money. "Hey- you don't have any change on you, do you?"

Merlin, who had been studying the man's face with a furrowed brow, started.

"Oh, yeah, course-" Quickly placing the pizza box and helmet onto the step beside him, he dug into the pocket of his own jeans. He fished out a wrinkled rag of a ten pound note and some small change.

The man wrinkled his nose slightly at the note.

"Err, £7.45, please." Clumsily, they exchanged some money. As casually as possible, Merlin said, "Um, not to be, well, I mean this in the most, um, in a manly way- I er, think I know you from somewhere."

The blonde man stared at him for a second. "You've delivered here before."

"I know, but… something…"

A hesitation.

"No. I don't think so."

"Oh," Merlin shrugged, abandoning his perusal of the man's face. "My mistake." He smiled. "Well, bye."

"Bye."

Merlin walked back down the steps.

"Your helmet."

Merlin walked back up the steps and retrieved the helmet, scratching an ear.

"Bye."

"Bye."

"Thanks for the pizza."

"Thanks for the custom."

Merlin clambered back over the moped, coaxing it to life. It chugged off back down Hyde Park Gate.

The blonde man held the pizza box. He'd almost forgotten it was there, watching the little bike turn the corner and disappear.


	5. Chapter 5

**Apologies for the belated update... the dreaded date in this chapter. Read, review, enjoy :)**

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Merlin fidgeted.

Jeanie looked lovely. There was no denying that.

Her hair was loose- it never was a work- and she'd changed from her floury t-shirt to a low-cut green blouse that accentuated her rather ample cleavage and contrasted superbly with her fiery red hair.

Merlin had dug out a slightly creased blue shirt he never wore and a jacket that wasn't a hoodie. He didn't actually own any shoes that weren't his converses and the top button of the shirt was undone. He'd tried the first two, but had felt so very self-conscious even just in front of his own mirror that he'd hastily done it back up.

They were sitting at a secluded table in a nice bar a few blocks from _Pizza Italiano GoGo._

Merlin thought he might _die_ any second now.

"… so he said liver and anchovy would not be a widely successful combination and that was that. What do you think?"

"Well, I um…" Merlin cleared his throat nervously. "I would say that it wouldn't appeal to the vegetarian buyers-"

She burst into rapturous giggles.

Merlin was unnerved.

"…But you know, the alternative and adventurous would find it, um, delightful, I think."

"Exactly!" Jeanie took a sip of her drink, her large green eyes not leaving Merlin's face. "Samose won't take any of my suggestions. He's limited."

"Silly man," Merlin agreed weakly.

Jeanie giggled again.

That wasn't funny. Is she laughing at me? Yes, of course she is. Laughing at your stupid face. Listen to what she is saying, idiot!

"So what kind of toppings do you like?"

"Well, you know, I'm more of a veggie guy, you know, so, peppers, mixed cheeses, mushrooms, red onions… pineapple, sweetcorn, that kind of stuff. Um, yeah."

'Mixed cheeses'? Woah. Don't blow her away with your masculinity.

However, Merlin could have sworn it was an almost predatory look she gave him, as she said, "Vegetarian? That's nice… It's so rare to find a guy with _morals_."

"Well, it's not so much on principle as… um, thanks."

There was a silence. Jeanie seemed quite comfortable, gazing at him through her lashes.

_Get out. You idiot, you, get out, get out!_

He attempted one of his best grins.

It may have come out as a grimace.

She gave a little smile back and quickly looked down out the table.

"You've got, um…" She gestured at her mouth.

"Oh? Oh- right-" aghast, he fished out the limp bit of food substance between his front teeth.

There was a pause.

-

It was a several hours and a few drinks later that Merlin, at home, thought that in retrospect, he probably should have answered 'yes' to her invitation to come in when he'd walked her home. Somehow, he doubted that after the look of terror, a hasty 'no' and fleeing down the street, Jeanie would be too keen to go out sometime soon. He did like Jeanine. He did. She was… nice. Passionate about her work. He was just a cowardly, gibbering wreck.

Merlin pummelled his forehead. What an idiot he'd made of himself.

Before any kinds of further thoughts could pass across the surface of his mind, Merlin waved his hand- one of his many books was suddenly there. He dove into the dusty words.

-

Why had he denied it? Knowing him? It made no sense. No sense at all.

The man shook his head, blonde hair swaying with it.

_Nothing_ about this boy made sense.

"_And this stupid boy sat there and defended his friend. Asshole."_

"_The boy or his friend?"_

"_Both."_

_Morgana touched her brow with slender fingers._

_The following look was casual. "Did you catch his name?"_

"_Merlin. Under different circumstances, I'd like to have memorised it."_

_Their eyes crinkled. "Under different circumstances."_

_Nothing _about this Merlin made sense.

The blonde man cursed himself. He felt like a stalker, finding out information through friends of friends of friends, acting like some kind of coy teenage girl.

Arthur felt the power of his Porsche snarl under the increased pressure his foot gave to the gas pedal. He relished the feeling of weightless control, screeching round a corner and accelerating, roaring through the otherwise quiet streets, headlights blaring over the road rushing past at increasing speed. All of the world outside the car, save the tarmac rushing beneath the wheels, he wanted to be a blur against the adrenaline pumping through him.

The man's face was gritted, his eyes intense and focused.

But then… if he had another link with this boy- other than the pizza deliveries building up in number- through Morgana and her friend, was it unrealistic for them to somehow meet outside the realms of fast food delivery? Morgana would get that wickedly curious look in her eyes- but he could deal with that. A well-phrased comeback could at least divert her questions, and after that… well, it would be…

The man reached for another gear. The engine obeyed with a snarl and accelerated, leaving speculation far behind on the tarmac.

-


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings.**

**Quite a short chapter this time- but hope you enjoy.**

**read, review, enjoy :)**

* * *

"Go home."

Those had been the words uttered the moment Merlin walked through the door.

"Why?"

"_Go home_, Ambrosious. You think I want my customers infected with the bloody plague? Go home!"

Merlin had winced more than slightly at the volume of Mr Samose's voice.

And anyway, he didn't have the _plague_. He hoped.

Merlin was in the straightjacket of his (numerous) bedcovers, a cup of Lemsip clasped in shaky hands, with a bright red nose, a sore head, puffy eyes and a hacking cough that rasped his voice. Not that he'd spoken to anyone but Mr Samose and the man at the petrol station that morning.

And both had been slightly repulsed.

Merlin scowled and gave a huge sniff. He hated being ill.

Broodingly, he stared out the peeling peach paint of the wall opposite. Thanks to his pounding headache, reading was impossible and thanks to the maximum dose of paracetamol he'd taken earlier, sleeping pills were also out of the question.

He sipped his Lemsip sullenly, feeling thoroughly sorry for himself.

The time seemed to drip past until finally, blessfully, Merlin felt the painkillers kick in and his headache began to blur: sleep finally found it's way in and Merlin leaned gratefully into it.

-

The pile of tissues was growing.

Gwen had been in: it had been nice to see someone who did not recoil from his 'cooties' as Will had called them over the phone. Gwen worked the day shift at Ravenscourt Park Hospital as a nurse and she'd restocked his 'medicine cupboard'–the overflow of boxes and pills adorning his bedside table. This was something for which Merlin vowed he would be eternally grateful, as she had saved him from staggering down to the local pharmacy, all blotchy and runny-nosed.

He couldn't smell he flowers she'd left, but they didn't look too bad, perched cheerfully on his dresser.

He dreaded the phone calls every morning to _Pizza Italiano GoGo_: calling in sick was humiliating at the best of times, but generally the ringing phone was answered by Jeanie (always awkward), or worse, by Mr Samose's shortening temper, his voice laced with unspoken threats.

Merlin shuddered. It wasn't as if he chose to have this insanely persistent lurgi.

The pile of tissues continued to grow.

-

The doorbell rang: the blonde man leapt from his sofa. His laptop and the email from his father went flying.

Arranging his face into a look of indifference, he opened the door of number 10 Hyde Park Gate.

Stood outside was a spotty youth with curly ginger hair.

"Pizza?"

"Err-"

Raised eyebrows.

"Where's the other pizza boy?"

"What?"

"The other pizza boy. Taller than me, dark hair, blue eyes-" He flushed. "…err, yeah. Think his name was… Merlin?"

"Merlin?" The ginger youth shook his head. "Oh, yeah, this is his delivery area… sorry mate, he's on sick leave. Been off for a couple of days."

"Oh. Right."

A pause.

"This is £7.45."

"Of course-" An exchange of money. The blonde man hesitated before tipping the boy.

"Thanks mate."

"Yes, thank you."

The door shut with a quiet click of the latch. The cavernous house seemed suddenly silent apart from the chugging of a moped, muffled by the outside walls.

With eyes moulded into an indefinite expression, the blonde man looked across his open hall to a closed door nestling just by the stairs. He looked back to the pizza box in his hands. Slightly, he shook his head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey ho!**

**Again, sorry for the wait. I had issues writing the Gwen/Will dialogue, having never been in such a situation, so I hope it's all right :D**

**So, good news and bad news in this chapter. But I promise things will look up for lil' Merlin at some point. Honest :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. Trust me, you know if I did.**

**The usual- read, review, enjoy :)**

* * *

Almost two weeks.

Merlin gaped at the date.

He sighed.

Swallowing the last of his toast- Merlin relished the ability to taste properly again- he grabbed his hoodie from the hall floor and stepped out into the bright sunlight of the street.

The moped glinted under an azure sky, the wing mirrors poking either side of the handles, reflecting the street like a tiny photograph. Merlin felt almost joyful as he sat back upon the worn old seat. Fondly, he coaxed the engine to an idle hum.

"How are you? It'll be good to get on and out again, won't it?"

And humming the tune to Willie Nelson's On the Road Again, Merlin pulled away from the curb.

There was time for coffee.

Merlin's favourite coffee was the medium mocha with cream and sprinkles from Amanda's Coffee Pot, a couple of blocks from his flat. After discovering it a year and a half ago, he found he could only drink instant home coffee in the most extreme of circumstances.

And finally, virus-free, why shouldn't he grab a coffee before work?

"Hi Chris." He spoke cheerfully.

"Merlin," The baseball-capped worker behind the counter greeted him. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Merlin grimaced. "Been ill. Er, double mocha-"

"-Cream and sprinkles? Got it."

Leisurely, Merlin sipped his coffee, sitting at his favourite table just by the window. A book lay open before him, its pages dog-eared and the spine creased from reading. Suddenly, the light dusting though Merlin's hair and pooling on the street outside faded to a shadow: with irritation, Merlin looked up at the sky. A cloud had drifted over the sun. He glared for a moment with flashing eyes, until it meekly passed and the day was bright again.

It was then he noticed the time.

"Oh, shoot-"

Five minutes later, the moped pulled up outside _Pizza Italiano GoGo_.

"Ambrosious!"

The cry came just as he walked through the door.

"I'm better now, Mr Samose, don't worry-"

"Where the hell have you been? I've had people calling you all bloody morning."

"Sorry."

"It's a good thing you came in. I need your bike and helmet back."

A furrowed brow. "Why?"

"We work in _fast _food, Ambrosious."

"I've made all delivery times, sir." Merlin was puzzled. Out of habit he was avoiding Mr Samose's piggy little eyes, but he could feel them boring into him. Merlin clutched the shiny helmet tightly in his hands. "Honestly."

"I can't afford to lose employees for weeks at a time. Not acceptable."

"But Mr Samose-"

A fleshy hand waited impatiently for the keys.

"Will-"

"Not my problem, boy."

It was almost in disbelief that Merlin handed him the keys to his little moped, the shiny helmet was passed to his former employer.

Mr Samose turned away, and walked back to his office.

Merlin blinked. Slowly, his face fell.

-

Behind him, the blonde man closed the door to the room just below the stairs with a slight _click_. He locked it.

The key slipped back into his pocket and with a sigh, the man pushed his hair back from his eyes with a frustrated hand. This Merlin had been absent from his doorstep for a fortnight: the man felt ridiculous even remembering the twinge each time another delivery boy stood grinning outside his door, and, if he was grudgingly honest with himself, the concern was weighing him down more every day, like saddlebags.

Filled with pepperoni.

In a movement, the man slammed the door of his living room and stalked through to the kitchen. He heard the noise echo throughout the hallway.

Morgana had called earlier. She had been absolutely delighted. He hadn't quite followed her shrieks, but it had been something to do with her friend moving house… moving in with someone else. Why this was such a cause for jubilation, he did not and cared not to know, as the fridge swung open to reveal cheese, tomatoes, salami, peppers and beef.

Standing in the streaming sunlight of his kitchen, the blonde man suddenly felt like desperation.

-

Quite suddenly, there was a celebration on his doorstep.

"Merlin! You'll never guess-"

Will and Gwen were stood there, holding hands, plastered with beaming smiles and clutching a bottle of wine and a large cake box.

Gauntly Merlin stared at them.

"We wanted you to know first-"

"Just thank you really-"

"And have you join us for dinner-"

"We're moving in together!"

Merlin blinked.

"That's… wow, con-congratulations!"

Their smiles stretched wider- Merlin was mildly impressed- and Will squeezed Gwen's hand.

"My stuff's just being moved into her house," he explained. "So we bought a couple of things here- do mind if we come in?"

"Not at all," Merlin replied, straining a smile. "Come in."

"So we're moving into my house, because it's bigger, and there's the spare room for all of Will's extra junk-"

"'Scuse me? Junk?"

"- and we're saving up- oh Merlin, we're saving up for a car!"

"Yeah, a really nice one-"

"Well, it's only going to be a cheap little thing, but still, a _car_!" Gwen was flushed pink with excitement, babbling on and on about all kinds of domestics, leading a slightly punch-drunk Will into Merlin's really only one-man living room. She placed the cake and wine on the coffee table, rearranging a few books into neat piles as she did so.

Merlin stood watching them, silently wrestling himself into as jubilant a mood as they. They looked so happy, and, after all, this was all his doing. That was a cause for joy, if not pride.

He collapsed into his favourite armchair, sculpting a smile.

"- and Will's said he'll cook on Fridays-"  
Raised eyebrows over a cut cake. Merlin took his.

"Gwen's promised to learn the offside rule, Merlin-"

"-quite an achievement!"

They both laughed, and held each other's gaze. A distinctively warm and fuzzy feeling alighted in Merlin's chest for a moment, before it was washed away once more by the question of rent- that question that was doing more than just weighing his mind.

There was a pop as the wine was opened and a glug as it was poured out into three glasses. They were chinked together, and it was not until Merlin gave only a half-hearted cheer that Gwen stopped in concern. A slight frown furrowed her brow.

"Merlin, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Tell me more about the new furniture."

"Merlin?"

"Honestly, it's-"

He bit his lip and shrunk in Gwen's sceptical gaze.

It's just- Mr Samose fired, me, that's all."

There was a moment of pause, broken by an outburst of Will's loud, 'what?!' and Gwen's horrified apologies.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, we had no idea-"

"Merlin, mate, don't worry, we can sort this out, see-"

"We'll talk to Jeanie, and-"

"Please, just stop!" His wine glass was set down and his eyes screwed up against the tirade of shared sentences and useless promises. "I'm twenty-six years old, made redundant by a downtown _pizzeria_, with no girlfriend, no private transport, no money for things most people demand as basic human rights, and I can't- I haven't written a thing in months and I just- I needed this job, I don't know what to do!" He paused, hands in his long, dark hair, realising a silence hung in the room. Instantly, there was guilt for ruining Will and Gwen's Big Day. "God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wreck this. Let's have a drink and forget about practicalities."

The sunlight flooding through the window was still empty of replies, until Gwen, with her lips pursed, leaned forwards and said in a low voice; "Merlin, sweetie, we can help. There's room for you in the spare room-"

Will caught on and nodded.

"I haven't got that much stuff, honestly."

"It's my house, so no rent. We'll see about a job, but at least there'll be a roof over your head, and you know I cook the best spaghetti carbonara." She left Will, crouched in front of the hunched Merlin and rubbed his arm. A warm hug followed.

"You don't have to, Gwen-"

"Yes we do. Now shut up. You have rent due?"

"A bit."

"Right…"

He choked a chuckle. "It was due when I got sacked."

In the briskest of ways, Gwen turned to Will and whisked him up. "Come on, you. We have a room to prepare for him."

Will rolled his eyes, but years of understanding were clouded in them. "See you soon, Merlin."

And there was no one. Merlin felt… Merlin didn't know what he felt: guilt, relief, gratification, irritation, pathetic. It wasn't the first time Gwen had been the one who picked up his pieces, did things- what did he do? Waste degrees and hide behind books? Cling to the sleeves of his friends, incapable of reality, able to change even the weather with a murmur, and hold down unemployment?

The sunshine mocked him, so he whispered for a book and curled in the chair.


End file.
